Amir stormed out of the royal chamber, he was furious. He will never accept her as his mate. He has every right to choose his mate himself, his parents just won't listen.
Amir is the crown prince of Whale kingdom, a very handsome lad every maiden dreamt of. His mother Queen Zoey had chosen a maiden Mila to be his mate. He wasn't interested in her.
He don't find her captivating for his liking. He want to make his own choice. He want to fight to win someone's heart. Not this choice of being imposed on someone and the maiden isn't concerned about love. She just want to marry him and be a princess.
Mila was dejected after her rejection, though the Queen promised to talk to him. She knew he will never accept her. He is a man of his words. She swims around slowly in a devastated state. Aria held her hand and sigh deeply.
"I know how you feel, my princess." Aria mumbled. She's her personal maid.
Mila looked at her dejectedly.
"You are the only one who understands me. Please don't worry about me today. I have been rejected by someone I yawned for all my life. How can I let the creatures see my face?" Mila wailed in agony. She was not just devastated but heartbroken.
"It's okay. He will change his mind soon. Her Majesty promised to talk to him. I know he will come around." Aria said and cleaned her face.
"He won't Aria. I know him too well. He is a man of his word and no matter what they say, he won't change." Mila said and cried more.
"What if he does? You never can tell." Aria said, hoping she listened.
"He won't." Mila reassured.
"You know he won't. It's very obvious in your eyes. Why are you persuading me? You keep talking as if you don't know him more than I." Mila said, trembling as her world crashed down.
"I don't want to see anyone. I want to be alone. I want to go far away from here. I want to be lonely for the rest of my life." She added.
"You can't do that. Why do you want to hurt yourself this much? You deserve to be loved and cherished. If the prince can't give that to you, someone else will." Aria advised.
She has to stop her from taking a drastic step.
"Can I ever love someone else? Can I see anyone worthy for me? I lived my life dreaming of the prince and now I have to change my direction. Is that even possible?" Mila queried.
"Why me?" She yelled in frustration.
Aria remained silent. She wouldn't dare upset her more.
"I'm going to the extreme of this kingdom. You can come with me if you want. I don't think I can remain a mermaid after what happened." Mila said.
Aria looked at her vividly, she don't understand but she agreed. She can't make the mistake of leaving her now. They swim far into the extreme of the kingdom. Aria who was now tired dragged her back.
"Where are we going to? You should have at least tag a location before we started this journey. I'm tired." Aria yelled.
Mila looked at her pitifully.
"I'm sorry for causing you trouble. This is our destination." Mila said, holding her hand.
"Yeeeee." Aria murmured silently.
"I want to start staying here." Mila blurted out.
Aria stared at her shocked, she wondered if Mila was alright.
"From now henceforth, this is my home. I will stay far away from the creatures. I won't bother anyone especially the prince." Mila said, though she was hurt.
"You want to stay here? You don't want anyone to see you? Why are you punishing yourself?" Aria queried.
"Please Aria, stay away from this. You don't have to bother about me anymore." Mila said.
"Did I complain? If I don't bother about you, who will? Do you think the man who rejected you will bother? Or you think your parents will come back to life for you to rely on? I don't mind bothering about you all my life." Aria yelled in annoyance.
This made Mila feel more sorrowful. What a wicked world? She had watched her parents died painfully. Greed and selfishness was what she saw on her uncle's eyes when he murdered her parents. It all started with the treasure they found beneath the cave. That treasure had brought a lot of commotion between the brothers.
After her parents' death, her uncle killed himself realizing what he had done. The treasure was taken over by the king and he shared part of it for the creatures.
Mila looked at Aria again. She was right, her world was crumbled the day her parents died.
"You always feel pity for me, how long will you continue like this?" Mila asked.
"You have to stop now. You should live your life the way you want. You should do whatever you want. Don't bother about me anymore." She added.
"Why are you talking like this?" Aria mumbled.
"I'm fine as long as you are fine. Haven't I told you that before?" She added as tears dropped from her eyes.
"Please Aria, I want to live here and I also want to die here." Mila said.
"But.....
"No but, I am your princess right? You should obey me. I might be rejected but I still have authority." Mila interjected.
"Yes my princess." Aria said and bow her head.
No matter what, no one dares go against the princess.
"I will obey you but you must promise me that you will be safe. You will protect yourself from all dangers. And you will let me visit everyday." Aria said and bow her head.
"No problem, I accept everything." Mila said. She don't want to argue anymore.
"Thank you princess." Aria said.
"Tell Amir that, I love him very much. I won't forget him easily. I hope he finds happiness and the true love he dreamt of." Mila said and cried.
For the first time in her life, she was truly letting the prince go. Aria was sad. She never knew letting go is this painful. Though she is not experiencing it, she could feel every inch of it.
"I will tell him everything." Aria assured.
"You should go now." Mila said.
"But let me stay with you for a while, I....
"Please go." Mila pleaded.
"My princess, what are you up to? How can you stay here?" Aria queried.
"Don't worry about me." Mila said.
Aria sigh feeling frustrated. She don't know what to do. She just watched the princess in disbelief. Mila roll her hair up. She grew a pine from the ground and sprinkles water on herself. She created sparkles of different colours and entered the pine.
She engrossed into the pine and her heart turned to a multi coloured shell with the help of the sparkles. Aria was shocked. She looked at her devastated. She became angry instantly.
She won't let him rest well for this. She made up her mind to punish him terribly. She swim back to the kingdom with all her strength. She won't spare that arrogant prince, he caused everything.
"Are you happy now?" Aria yelled as she banged into his chamber. He looked at her shocked.
"She did everything for you. Now, she has even stopped herself from living all thanks to you. What has she done wrong to you? Why do you hate her so much?" She added as she cried more.
He was still shocked as he don't know what she was talking about.
"Aria, please calm down. I don't know what is wrong with you but I can tell you are angry with me." Amir said, still surprised.
"Yes I am, it's all because of you. Why would you treat her like that? Why can't you love her? Why? You were so hostile to her. She did everything for you. She even gave her life to you. Yet, you didn't appreciate it." Aria yelled.
He looked at her carefully. At least he now understands what she's talking about.
"Listen Aria, love isn't force. I explained everything to her. I told her what's on my mind. I don't want her to pass through more pain because of me. I wanted her to be free. How can I keep her in this castle without love? I wanted her to stop suffering because of me, she had suffered enough." Amir explained.
He hoped she understands too. But he really felt sorry. She could see the truth in his eyes. He was just letting her go. She wasn't sure if Mila misquote him or not, but she can tell he is being sincere. Why did she then take it to heart?
"But my prince, she has decided to hid in her shadow. She don't want anyone to see her. She left the kingdom." Aria explained.
"What?" Amir shouted. He was surprised. How could she do that? It's too dangerous outside the kingdom.
"She don't want to bother you. She wants you to chase your dreams instead of hers. She said she will continue to love you no matter what." Aria sigh deeply.
"Where is she?" Amir asked as his heartbeat increased.
"She's at the extreme of the kingdom."Aria said.
Amir swim out with all his might, ignoring her. She followed without hesitation. He can't let her go. He might not love her but he loves her. Sometimes he don't even understand his feelings for her. Maybe it was love or lust but at least, he don't hate her.
When they got there, Aria screamed. She was shocked to see the pine dead.
"Mila, my princess." She shouted endlessly.
"What happened to her?" Amir inquired. He looked around endlessly wondering where she was.
"Nooooooooooooo." She shouted and held the pine. He just watched her in awe.
"What are you doing?" He asked.
He didn't see anything except a dead pine so her wailing were like noise to his ears.
"The princess." She said and started crying.
"Where is she?" He asked confused.
"The princess is.....erm ...she....
"Speak clearly, you...
He stopped suddenly looking behind her. He couldn't believe his eyes. Maybe they were deceiving him. How is that possible? What happened to her? Who did this?
Immediately his anger grew and he screamed, making the whole kingdom vibrate. He held Mila up. She was bleeding terribly. He continued to check her pulse but she was gone.
He screamed again and Aria was scared. She had never seen him like that before. Was he in love with Mila? Or maybe he couldn't admit to his love? Or, he don't know he loved her. Aria thought and cried more.
He carried her back to the kingdom in tears. He won't spare whosoever is responsible for this. He wailed in pain as he entered the royal chamber.
His parents were shocked to see them. Aria cried in and bow her head respectfully as Amir dropped Mila on the floor. His parents were shocked to see the scene before them.
"What happened to her?" Queen Zoey asked.
"Your majesty, I don't know." Aria replied.
"We found her dead at the extreme of the kingdom, your majesty." Amir said.
"What is she doing there? Why will she go to such a dangerous place?" king Liam asked coldly.
"Your majesty, she was frustrated. She wanted the prince to be free. She wanted him to have the girl of his dream. She went there to console herself." Aria explained and cried more.
King Liam and Queen Zoey looked at Amir with disappointment. He caused this. She got into this mess because of him. Even Amir was ashamed of himself. How can he despised her till death.
"Leo, Leo." Amir called endlessly.
"Is he not there?" He shouted.
"My prince, I'm sorry." Leo said, immediately he got there. He was trying to catch his breath.
"Go to the seer now. He must come to the palace with you else remain there." Amir commanded.
"Yes my prince." Leo bowed and swim out as fast as he could.
"I won't spare who did this. I will kill anyone responsible for this. If I don't, then I'm not the crown prince of this kingdom." Amir shouted angrily.
His parents had to cover their ears. They were very surprised. He had never been this angry since childhood. This must have pricked his heart deeply. Aria continued crying. She was still imagining what happened within that short period. How wish she knew she wouldn't have left?
She would have stayed there with her or better still, dragged her back to the kingdom. That would have been much better than this. She had to obey the princess but now, she regret being obedient. She would have been stubborn. She cried in pain and anguish, not knowing who to vent it on.